After Being Entangled By the Obsessive Heroine [Quick Wear] - Chapter 2

When Xian Ning got home, her parents and sister were all in the living room. The moment they saw her, their eyes zeroed in, filled with questions.

With three pairs of eyes burning into her, Xian Ning felt her sore legs grow even heavier.

“Mom, Dad, you guys are still up? And you, Sis, haha.”

Her parents didn’t seem to notice anything amiss, but Lu Han’s face changed as she gave Xian Ning a long, searching look.

“I just came back to grab something. Why don’t you come to my place? It’ll be easier for school tomorrow.”

The original owner, feeling guilty, had been coddled by her family, who gave her unconditional love. This only inflated her ego, making her believe there would always be a safety net no matter what she did.

While the Lu family wasn’t as wealthy as the Xues, they were well-off. Her father was a high school teacher, her mother was an accountant for a property management company, and her sister, Lu Han, had been out of college for four years and was doing quite well for herself at an entertainment company.

With an age gap of five or six years, Lu Han was incredibly indulgent with her younger sister, bordering on spoiling her.

Normally, Xian Ning would have found this level of affection suffocating, but now, she was just grateful.

Spending the night out was one thing, but coming back with a whole mess of marks on her body was going to be impossible to explain to her parents.

Xian Ning froze, afraid to move closer and give herself away. Lu Han, seeing her hesitation, walked over.

Her mother eyed Xian Ning, a puzzled look on her face.

“Xian Ning, did something happen at the Xue family banquet last night?”

Xian Ning’s face stiffened, and her breath hitched. She fought to stay calm, forcing a smile.

“Nothing happened. Why do you ask?”

“You just look out of it,” her mother said. “I thought maybe something happened at the banquet. Glad to hear everything’s fine.”

Lu Han, seeing the guilt plastered all over Xian Ning’s face, quickly reached her and put an arm around her shoulders, shielding most of her body from view.

“Mom, Dad, it’s getting late. We’re going to head out now.”

Without waiting for a response, Lu Han led Xian Ning away.

Once they were in the car, Xian Ning let out a long sigh of relief, only to turn and find herself staring into Lu Han’s intense eyes.

Her breath caught again. “What’s with that look, Sis?”

Lu Han didn’t answer right away. She just stared at her for ten seconds before leaning over to buckle Xian Ning’s seatbelt.

“Aren’t you hot?”

“Huh?”

Xian Ning didn’t understand her cryptic remark.

Lu Han started the car and hit the gas a little too hard, the engine roaring.

“You don’t have to hide anything from me. Take your jacket off.”

Xian Ning froze again, wishing the car would swallow her whole. She knew Lu Han had guessed something, but she hadn’t expected her to be so direct.

She couldn’t take off her jacket. The neckline of her shirt underneath was low, and without the jacket, all the marks would be completely exposed.

Lu Han didn’t say another word, driving in silence until they reached her apartment in the city center.

As soon as they walked in, Xian Ning rushed to the bathroom to shower. It wasn’t about being clean; she just wanted to escape the awkwardness.

She spent over half an hour scrubbing herself, practically trying to scrub off her skin. But instead of fading, the marks only grew more vivid.

She had to stop eventually, her legs aching too much to stand.

The mirror was fogged up, showing only a blurry reflection. Xian Ning looked at herself and reached up to touch her face.

She looked a lot like her original self, just younger. Her skin was as smooth and flawless as a peeled egg, her features delicate and beautiful. With her soft demeanor and innocent eyes, she was the spitting image of a “pure white jasmine flower,” as they’d say on the internet.

Of course, it would be a lot better if she weren’t the villainess.

But there was something exciting about doing bad things with such an innocent face—the contrast alone was thrilling.

She lowered her gaze slightly and then looked up from under her lashes. Just after a shower, her eyes were still wet and dewy, like those of a lost fawn.

Who wouldn’t fall for that? She almost fooled herself.

But you’re the villainess, she reminded herself. With a helpless smile, Xian Ning dropped the pitiful act.

After blow-drying her hair halfway, she walked out in her cartoon pajamas. Lu Han was on the couch, legs crossed, scrolling on her phone. She put it down when she saw Xian Ning and patted the spot next to her.

Xian Ning’s footsteps slowed. They were sisters, and Lu Han was so good to her, so why did she feel so tense?

Lu Han was a little taller than her, with hair that fell just below her shoulders. She had thick, dark eyebrows with a perfect arch and a high brow bone that made her eyes look deep set and elongated. Her eyelashes were long and thick, fluttering like butterfly wings when she blinked. Her nose was high and straight, the kind you couldn’t get with plastic surgery. Her lips were naturally a deep shade, looking like she was always wearing lipstick.

In short, Lu Han was a stunning woman, but her cold demeanor gave off an invisible air of intimidation.

Lost in her thoughts, Xian Ning sat down beside her.

Lu Han glanced at the hickeys on Xian Ning’s neck, her eyes darkening.

“Who were you with last night?”

Xian Ning fell silent, anxiously picking at her hands.

Everyone knew she hated Xue Yingxian. She couldn’t bring herself to admit she’d slept with her arch-nemesis.

“Was it Tang Di?” Lu Han’s tone was sharp.

“No! No!” Xian Ning said quickly. “I didn’t even see Tang Di.”

Lu Han stared at her, her gaze so deep it felt like it was pulling her in.

“Then who was it?”

Xian Ning’s hand slipped, a fingernail digging into the flesh at the edge of her nail. The sharp pain brought her back to her senses.

“Sis, I’m twenty years old. You don’t have to treat me like a kid. I’ll handle this myself.”

She then bolted into the bedroom, locking the door behind her and letting out a sigh of relief.

This is so annoying. Do I really have to do this?

A small, white fluffball, soft like a cloud, floated into view.

【Yes, you do. After all, you were slacking off and blew up the main control server.】

The voice was familiar. It was her system, 033. It was a sarcastic and unreliable little thing that always disappeared at the most critical moments, so half of her failed missions were its fault.

Of course, it was also related to her lazy personality—she’d just give up instead of dealing with problems.

But she would never admit that.

Now she was in a real predicament. How was she going to face Xue Yingxian?

“Is there any way to make her forget everything?”

【Huh?】 System 033 sounded confused.

“Make her forget what happened last night. We can go back to being mortal enemies.”

The fluffball floated a little, as if mocking Xian Ning.

【If that existed, would your previous missions have failed?】

033 had long known about Xian Ning’s habit of slacking off, which was why its performance had been at the bottom of the system ranks for years. It couldn’t even hold its head up among other systems.

Xian Ning lay on the bed, sighing dramatically, then decided she should just go to sleep.

“Seize the day, and let tomorrow’s worries be for tomorrow. People should live in the present.”

Lu Han had specifically bought the mattress for her; it cost a few thousand, and it was incredibly comfortable. There were several plush toys next to her to keep her company while she slept.

Just as she was about to doze off, 033 suddenly asked.

 【Host, do you know what your mission is?】

Xian Ning opened her eyes and said flatly, “No, but I want to kill you.”

【Do you know why fairytales end when the princess and prince live happily ever after?】

Xian Ning didn’t answer, but 033 didn’t seem bothered and continued on its own.

【Because the real test only begins after marriage. When two people spend a long time together, their different personalities clash, and arguments are inevitable. They either learn to understand and tolerate each other, and their love grows stronger through adversity, or they fall apart, slowly grinding each other down into the very people they used to despise.】

033 paused. Xian Ning said, “Have you been to a creative writing class? That’s so profound.”

033: 【… I’m just reading from the script.】

Xian Ning: “Oh.”

【That’s not important,】 033 said, forcefully changing the subject. 【You should take a look at the rest of the plot.】

Flashes of light and images appeared before her eyes, showing scenes of the male and female leads after they got together.

Xue Yingxian was independent and had her own career goals, but Tang Di wanted her to quit her job and stay at home like a kept bird.

They argued about this more than once. Later, Tang Di tricked Xue Yingxian into getting pregnant. The early stages of her pregnancy were so difficult that Xue Yingxian had to stop working to protect the baby.

Later, when she accidentally found out that Tang Di had deliberately gotten her pregnant, she was so disappointed that she didn’t want him to touch her. Tang Di forced himself on her, almost causing a miscarriage.

They gave each other the silent treatment for a few months. During that time, a new woman appeared in Tang Di’s life—one who seemed to understand him completely. He quickly fell for her, forgetting all the promises he’d made to Xue Yingxian.

Just before she gave birth, the mistress confronted her, which triggered a massive hemorrhage. Xue Yingxian nearly died on the operating table.

The baby didn’t survive, and their relationship ended, but Tang Di refused to let her go. Whenever Xue Yingxian brought up a divorce, he would have an episode, pushing her to the brink of depression.

They were entangled for a long time until one winter night, Xue Yingxian stabbed Tang Di and escaped from the villa he was holding her in. She ran aimlessly into the street and was hit by a speeding car…

Xian Ning was wide awake after seeing it all.

She pulled up Tang Di’s profile, which described him as paranoid and gloomy, and suffering from bipolar disorder, which made him a total lunatic when he had an episode.

He had a full set of crazy person buffs. No wonder Xue Yingxian was tormented like that.

Infidelity, domestic abuse, gaslighting, and confinement—anyone would go insane in that situation.

Thinking of Xue Yingxian’s beautiful face, a heavy feeling settled in Xian Ning’s heart.

“So, what’s my mission?”

【To change the plot, prevent the tragedy from happening, and ensure the male and female leads have a truly happy ending.】

“Tang Di is abusive and obsessive, and he throws tantrums at the drop of a hat. Shouldn’t I stop them from getting together?”

【Do you remember why you were assigned this mission?】

“Because a small world collapsed, the central server blew up, and I was exiled here.”

【Then follow your instructions. The rest is none of our business.】

System 033’s tone suddenly became serious, and Xian Ning said nothing more.

It was true. If they were meant to end up together, there was nothing she could do to change it alone. Still, learning about the future made her feel inexplicably disgusted with Tang Di.

“A man who is paranoid and mentally ill is very difficult to change.”

Xian Ning stated her opinion, and 033 replied, 【Bipolar disorder can be cured. Whether you find a way to make him get treatment or you approach it from another angle, you need to take action. You can’t be a couch potato like you used to be.】

Changing a crazy, obsessive man was even harder than installing an elevator on Mount Everest.

Xian Ning kept that thought to herself and didn’t fall asleep until after midnight.

******

The next day, she was woken up by someone. When she opened her eyes, she saw Lu Han’s beautiful face close to hers, so close she could hear her breathing.

“Time to get up, or you’ll be late for school.”

Xian Ning nodded, then went back to sleep after she left.

Going to school was out of the question. She and Xue Yingxian were in the same school and same department, and their classes were in adjacent classrooms. She was bound to run into her.

Xue Yingxian must hate her guts now, so why would she put herself through that?

When Lu Han came home that night, she saw Xian Ning curled up on the couch, watching a show. Lu Han took the tablet from her hand.

“Didn’t go to class?”

Xian Ning put on her best innocent act, looking at Lu Han with a pitiable, helpless expression.

“Sis, I don’t want to go to school. Can you ask them for a week off for me?”

Lu Han didn’t respond. Xian Ning hugged her arm, her voice soft and whiny.

“Just for a week, please, Sis?”

Lu Han raised an eyebrow. “What’s in it for me?”

“What do you mean? You get to come home to your beautiful, adorable sister every day. Isn’t that a good thing?”

Lu Han couldn’t help but laugh, a mixture of exasperation and indulgence in her voice. “Oh, you.”

She then called Xian Ning’s homeroom teacher, explaining that she needed a week off for personal reasons. The teacher agreed and told Xian Ning to fill out the leave form when she returned.

“You’re the best sister in the whole world!” Xian Ning gushed.

Lu Han just smiled, but the moment she saw the marks on her neck, her smile vanished.

She doesn’t want to go to school, so it must have been Xian Ning’s classmate. Lu Han thought.

Lu Han’s eyes grew darker as she pursed her lips.

Xian Ning spent a blissful week lounging around until Lu Han finally dragged her out of the house on the last day.

At the mall, Lu Han ran into a colleague. Xian Ning, not wanting to listen to their polite small talk, went off to wander on her own.

In the distance, she spotted a vaguely familiar figure. Before she could run, the person rushed over to her like a gust of wind.

“Lu Xian Ning!”

“I’ve been looking all over for you!”

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